Semiconductor package devices including interposer openings for heat transfer member

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor package device includes a lower package, an interposer disposed on the lower package and including a ground layer and at least one opening, and an upper package on the interposer. The lower package includes a first package substrate, a first semiconductor chip on the first package substrate, and a first molding compound layer on the first package substrate. The upper package includes a second package substrate and at least one upper semiconductor chip on the second package substrate. A heat transfer member includes a first portion disposed between the interposer and the upper package, a second portion disposed in the at least one opening of the interposer, and a third portion disposed between the interposer and the lower package.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. non-provisional patent application is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 14/448,794, filed Jul. 31, 2014, which itselfclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No.10-2013-0129370, filed on Oct. 29, 2013, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of both of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The inventive concepts relate to semiconductor devices and, moreparticularly, to package-on-package devices.

High performance, high speed and small electronic components have beendemanded with the development of an electronic industry. For example, asthe use of small and thin communication devices (e.g., mobile phones ortablet personal computers) is increasing, smaller and thinnersemiconductor packages included therein are increasingly demanded. Newpackaging techniques are being suggested to satisfying these trends. Thenew packaging techniques may include a technique of stackingsemiconductor chips on one package substrate and a technique of stackinga package on another package. Particularly, package-on-package (PoP)devices including stacked packages are being spotlighted. Thus, it isincreasingly desired to improve reliability of the PoP devices.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the inventive concepts may provide semiconductor packagedevices capable of improving a heat release effect.

Embodiments of the inventive concepts may also provide semiconductorpackage devices capable of reducing or preventing interference withrespect to electrical signals, which is caused by a heat transfermember.

In one aspect, a semiconductor package device may include: a lowerpackage including a first package substrate, a first semiconductor chipon the first package substrate, and a first molding compound layer onthe first package substrate; an interposer disposed on the lowerpackage, the interposer including at least one opening; an upper packagedisposed on the interposer, the upper package including a second packagesubstrate and a second semiconductor chip on the second packagesubstrate; a heat transfer member disposed between the interposer andthe upper package, between the interposer and the lower package, and inthe at least one opening of the interposer; first via-connectingterminals connecting the lower package to the interposer, the firstvia-connecting terminals spaced apart from each other with a firstdistance therebetween; and second via-connecting terminals connectingthe interposer to the upper package, the second via-connecting terminalsspaced apart from each other with a second distance therebetween that isdifferent from the first distance.

In another aspect, a semiconductor package device may include: a firstpackage including a first package substrate, a first semiconductor chipon the first package substrate, and a first molding compound layer onthe first package substrate; an interposer disposed on the firstpackage, the interposer including a ground layer and at least oneopening; a second package including a second package substrate disposedon the interposer, and a second semiconductor chip on the second packagesubstrate; and a heat transfer member including a first portion disposedbetween the interposer and the second package, a second portion disposedin the at least one opening of the interposer, and a third portiondisposed between the interposer and the first package. The heat transfermember may be connected to the ground layer of the interposer.

In still another aspect, a semiconductor package device may include: afirst package including a first package substrate; an interposerdisposed on the first package, the interposer including a ground layerand at least one opening; a second package disposed on the interposer,the second package including a second package substrate; and a heattransfer member including a first portion disposed between theinterposer and the second package, a second portion disposed in the atleast one opening of the interposer, and a third portion disposedbetween the interposer and the first package.

In yet another aspects, a semiconductor package device may include: afirst semiconductor package; a second semiconductor package; aninterposer between the first and second semiconductor packages thatelectrically interconnects the first and second semiconductor packages,the interposer including an opening therein; and a flowable heattransfer member that is disposed between the interposer and the firstsemiconductor package and between the interposer and the secondsemiconductor package. The flowable heat transfer member and the openingare configured to flow some of the flowable heat transfer member intothe opening in response to heating of the flowable heat transfer member.In some embodiments, the interposer includes a ground layer; theflowable heat transfer member is electrically conductive; and groundlayer is electrically connected to the flowable heat transfer member.Moreover, in some embodiments, the opening is adjacent an edge of theflowable heat transfer member when the flowable heat transfer member isnot heated by the first and second semiconductor packages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The inventive concepts will become more apparent in view of the attacheddrawings and accompanying detailed description.

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts, and FIG.1B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor package devicecomparative to the semiconductor package device of the FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating first via-connecting terminals and aninterposer including a ground layer of a semiconductor package deviceaccording to some embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIGS. 3A to 3H are plan views illustrating modified examples of a designof an interposer, on which a heat transfer member is disposed, in thesemiconductor package device illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice according to other embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 4B is a plan view illustrating an interposer, on which a heattransfer member is disposed, in the semiconductor package deviceillustrated in FIG. 4A;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating semiconductorpackage devices according to still other embodiments of the inventiveconcepts;

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice according to yet other embodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIGS. 7B and 7C are plan views illustrating modified examples of adesign of an interposer, on which a heat transfer member is disposed, inthe semiconductor package device illustrated in FIG. 7A;

FIGS. 8 to 10 are cross-sectional views illustrating semiconductorpackage devices according to yet still embodiments of the inventiveconcepts;

FIG. 11 is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating a method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor package device according to yet stillembodiments of the inventive concepts;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing asemiconductor package device according to yet still embodiments of theinventive concepts;

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a memory systemincluding a semiconductor package device according to some embodimentsof the inventive concepts; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an electronic systemincluding a semiconductor package device according to some embodimentsof the inventive concepts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The inventive concepts will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of theinventive concepts are shown. The advantages and features of theinventive concepts and methods of achieving them will be apparent fromthe following embodiments that will be described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however,that the inventive concepts are not limited to the followingembodiments, and may be implemented in various forms. Accordingly, theembodiments are provided only to disclose the inventive concepts and letthose skilled in the art know the category of the inventive concepts. Inthe drawings, embodiments of the inventive concepts are not limited tothe specific examples provided herein and are exaggerated for clarity.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to limit the inventive concepts. Asused herein, the singular terms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will beunderstood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or“coupled” to another element, it may be directly connected or coupled tothe other element or intervening elements may be present.

Similarly, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer,region or substrate is referred to as being “on” another element, it canbe directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present.In contrast, the term “directly” means that there are no interveningelements. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”,“comprising,”, “includes” and/or “including”, when used herein, specifythe presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Additionally, the embodiments in the detailed description will bedescribed with sectional views as ideal views of the inventive concepts.Accordingly, shapes of the views may be modified according tomanufacturing techniques and/or allowable errors. Therefore, theembodiments of the inventive concepts are not limited to the specificshape illustrated in the views, but may include other shapes that may becreated according to manufacturing processes. Areas exemplified in thedrawings have general properties, and are used to illustrate specificshapes of elements. Thus, this should not be construed as limited to thescope of the inventive concepts.

It will be also understood that although the terms first, second, thirdetc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elementsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element from another element. Thus, a first element insome embodiments could be termed a second element in other embodimentswithout departing from the teachings of the present inventive concepts.Embodiments of aspects of the present inventive concepts explained andillustrated herein include their complementary counterparts. The samereference numerals or the same reference designators denote the sameelements throughout the specification.

Moreover, embodiments are described herein with reference tocross-sectional illustrations and/or plane illustrations that areidealized illustrations. Accordingly, variations from the shapes of theillustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniquesand/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments should not beconstrued as limited to the shapes of regions illustrated herein but areto include deviations in shapes that result, for example, frommanufacturing. For example, an etching region illustrated as a rectanglewill, typically, have rounded or curved features. Thus, the regionsillustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes arenot intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device andare not intended to limit the scope of example embodiments.

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 300 according to some embodiments of the inventive concepts, andFIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice comparative to the semiconductor package device of the FIG. 1A.FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating an interposer 30 including a groundlayer 38 of the semiconductor package device 300 illustrated in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a semiconductor package device 300 according tosome embodiments of inventive concepts may be a package-on-package (PoP)device. The semiconductor package device 300 may include a lower package100, an interposer 30, an upper package 200, and a heat transfer member50 between the interposer 30 and the upper package 200.

The lower package 100 and the interposer 30 may be connected to eachother through first via-connecting terminals 28. The lower package 100and the interposer 30 may be electrically and physically connected toeach other.

The lower package 100 includes a first package substrate 10. The firstpackage substrate 10 may be, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB).The first package substrate 10 may include a first surface 10 a and asecond surface 10 b opposite to each other. For example, the firstsurface 10 a and the second surface 10 b of the first package substrate10 may be a top surface and a bottom surface of the first packagesubstrate 10, respectively. First connecting pads 14 may be disposed onthe first surface 10 a of the first package substrate 10, and secondconnecting pads 16 may be disposed on the second surface 10 b of thefirst package substrate 10. The first connecting pads 14 may beelectrically connected to the second connecting pads 16 throughinterconnections disposed within the first package substrate 10. Thefirst package substrate 10 may include a ground layer 19 of theinterconnections. The ground layer 19 may include a metal conductivelayer. For example, the ground layer 19 may include copper (Cu) and/or acopper alloy. The ground layer 19 may extend to an outer periphery ofthe first package substrate 10. The ground layer 19 may have aplane-shape.

The first connecting pads 14 may be electrically connected to first chipconnecting terminals 22 and the first via-connecting terminals 28. Thesecond connecting pads 16 may be connected to external connectingterminals 18. The external connecting terminals 18 may be electricallyconnected to a semiconductor module board or a system board. Theexternal connecting terminals 18 may be, for example, solder ballsarranged in an array form. The external connecting terminals 18 mayinclude copper, nickel, gold, indium, bismuth, tin, and/or othernon-reactive metals.

A lower semiconductor chip, i.e., a first semiconductor chip 20 may bemounted on the first package substrate 10 by a flip-chip bondingtechnique, so that a second surface 20 b of the first semiconductor chip20 may face the first package substrate 10. The second surface 20 b ofthe first semiconductor chip 20 may be an active surface on whichintegrated circuits are disposed. The first semiconductor chip 20 may beelectrically connected to the interconnections disposed inside the firstpackage substrate 10 through the first chip connecting terminals 22 andthe first connecting pads 14. The first chip connecting terminal 22 maybe, for example, a solder bump. For example, the first semiconductorchip 20 may be a logic device such as a microprocessor, an applicationprocessor, and/or a controller. However, the inventive concepts are notlimited thereto.

A first molding compound layer 24 is on the first surface 10 a of thefirst package substrate 10. The first molding compound layer 24 may sealat least a portion of a sidewall of the first semiconductor chip 20. Thefirst molding compound layer 24 may fill a space between the secondsurface 20 b of the first semiconductor chip 20 and the first surface 10a of the first package substrate 10. A top surface 24 a of the firstmolding compound layer 24 may be substantially coplanar with a firstsurface 20 a (i.e., a top surface) of the first semiconductor chip 20.Thus, the first surface 20 a of the first semiconductor chip 20 may notbe covered with the first molding compound layer 24 but may be exposed.

The first molding compound layer 24 may include molding via-holes 26.The molding via-holes 26 may be spaced apart from the firstsemiconductor chip 20. In some embodiments, portions of the firstmolding compound layer 24 may be removed using a laser drilled process(LDP) to form the molding via-holes 26. Alternatively, the portions ofthe first molding compound layer 24 may be removed using a generaletching process instead of the laser drilled process (LDP) to form themolding via-holes 26.

The molding via-hole 26 may have an inclined sidewall profile. Themolding via-holes 26 may expose the first via-connecting terminals 28.

The interposer 30 may be on the lower package 100. The interposer 30 maybe, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB). The interposer 30 may bea medium electrically connecting the lower package 100 to the upperpackage 200. For example, if a distance between connecting terminalsdisposed on the first surface 10 a of the first package substrate 10 isdifferent from a distance between connecting terminals disposed on asecond surface 60 b of a second package substrate 60, it may bedifficult to electrically connect the lower package 100 to the upperpackage 200. In this case, the interposer 30 may be used. The interposer30 can connect connecting terminals having a first distance therebetweento connecting terminals having a second distance different from thefirst distance therebetween. The connecting terminals having the firstdistance may be electrically connected to the connecting terminalshaving the second distance through interconnections disposed within theinterposer 30.

The interposer 30 may include a first surface 30 a and a second surface30 b opposite to each other. For example, the first surface 30 a of theinterposer 30 may be a top surface of the interposer 30, and the secondsurface 30 b of the interposer 30 may be a bottom surface of theinterposer 30. Third connecting pads 32 may be disposed on the firstsurface 30 a of the interposer 30, and fourth connecting pads 34 may bedisposed on the second surface 30 b of the interposer 30. The thirdconnecting pads 32 may be electrically connected to the fourthconnecting pads 34 through the interconnection disposed within theinterposer 30. A distance between the third connecting pads 32 may bedifferent from a distance between the fourth connecting pads 34. Forexample, the distance between the third connecting pads 32 may begreater than the distance between the fourth connecting pads 34.

The interposer 30 may include at least one opening 40 penetrating theinterposer 30. The opening 40 may include at least one first opening 42and at least one second opening 44. The first opening 42 may be formedin a region of the interposer 30, which is provided directly on thefirst semiconductor chip 20. In other words, the first opening 42 may beformed in a region of the interposer 30, which overlaps with the firstsemiconductor chip 20. The second opening 44 may be formed in a regionof the interposer 30, which is provided directly on the first moldingcompound layer 24 around the first semiconductor chip 20. For example,the second opening 44 may be formed in a region of the interposer 30,which is spaced apart from the first semiconductor chip 20 by a distanceg in a direction parallel to the first surface 20 a of the firstsemiconductor chip 20 and overlaps with the first molding compound layer24. The at least one second opening 44 may surround the at least onefirst opening 42. The first opening 42 may have a first width c, and thesecond opening 44 may have a second width d. The first width c of thefirst opening 42 may be different from the second width d of the secondopening 44. For example, the first width c of the first opening 42 maybe greater than the second width d of the second opening 44. The firstand second openings 42 and 44 may be through-holes or through-slits.

The opening 40 of the interposer 30 may reduce or prevent the heattransfer member 50 described later from being connected to secondvia-connecting terminals 68. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, ifthe heat transfer member 50 having fluidity (i.e., a flowable heattransfer member) is on the interposer 30, the heat transfer member 50may flow outside the region overlapping with the first semiconductorchip 20, so as to be connected to some of the second via-connectingterminals 68 or some of the third connecting pads 32. Thus, anelectrical short may occur between the second via-connecting terminals68, or connection failure may be caused between the secondvia-connecting terminals 68 and the third connecting pads 32. However,the at least one opening 40 may be provided in the interposer 30 in theembodiments described above.

Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, the heat transfer member 50 may flowinto the opening 40 such that a flow of the heat transfer member 50toward the second via-connecting terminals 68 may be interrupted. As aresult, it is possible to reduce or prevent the electrical short betweenthe second via-connecting terminals 68 or the connection failure betweenthe second via-connecting terminals 68 and the third connecting pads 32.Thus, electrical signals of the semiconductor package device 300 may beeasily transmitted between the lower package 100 and the upper package200 without interference of the heat transfer member 50.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 2, a ground layer 38 may be disposed withinthe interposer 30. The ground layer 38 may include a metal conductivelayer. The ground layer 38 may include a metal such as copper or acopper alloy. The ground layer 38 may have a mesh-shape or plane-shapehaving a size greater than that of the first semiconductor chip 20. Atleast one first opening 42 may penetrate the ground layer 38. The groundlayer 38 may be connected to, for example, at least one of the fourthconnecting pads 34. Additionally, the ground layer 38 may be connectedto at least one of the third connecting pads 32 through a connectingline 31 of the interposer 30. Thus, the ground layer 38 may be connectedto both the at least one of the third connecting pads 32 and the atleast one of the fourth connecting pads 34. The ground layer 38 may beconnected to at least one of the first via-connecting terminals 28through the at least one of the fourth connecting pads 34. In order toemphasize the fourth connecting pads 34 connected to the ground layer38, the fourth connecting pads 34 connected to others of the firstvia-connecting terminals 28 are omitted in FIG. 2. The ground layer 38may be electrically connected to the ground layer 19 of the firstpackage substrate 10 through the at least one of the firstvia-connecting terminals 28. Since the ground layer 38 of the interposer30 enlarges a ground area along with the ground layer 19 of the firstpackage substrate 10, impedance of the semiconductor package device 300can be reduced. Thus, a power voltage can be stably provided tosemiconductor chips 20, 72 and 74 of semiconductor package device 300.

The upper package 200 may be disposed on the interposer 30. Theinterposer 30 and the upper package 200 may be connected to each otherthrough the second via-connecting terminals 68. The upper package 200may include the second package substrate 60. The second packagesubstrate 60 may be, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB). Thesecond package substrate 60 may include a first surface 60 a and asecond surface 60 b opposite to each other. In other words, the firstsurface 60 a and the second surface 60 b of the second package substrate60 may be a top surface and a bottom surface of the second packagesubstrate 60, respectively. Fifth connecting pads 64 may be disposed onthe first surface 60 a of the second package substrate 60, and sixthconnecting pads 66 may be disposed on the second surface 60 b of thesecond package substrate 60. The fifth connecting pads 64 may beelectrically connected to corresponding bonding wires 82, respectively.The sixth connecting pads 66 may be connected to the secondvia-connecting terminals 68.

At least one upper semiconductor chip 70 may be on the second packagesubstrate 60. For example, a second semiconductor chip 72 and a thirdsemiconductor chip 74 may be stacked to be mounted on the second packagesubstrate 60. The second semiconductor chip 72 or the thirdsemiconductor chip 74 may include, for example, a memory chip such as adynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip, a flash memory chip, amagnetic random access memory (MRAM) chip, a phase change random accessmemory (PRAM) chip, a resistance random access memory (ReRAM) chip,and/or a static random access memory (SRAM) chip. The secondsemiconductor chip 72 may be bonded to the second package substrate 60by an adhesive 80, and the third semiconductor chip 74 may be bonded tothe second semiconductor chip 72 by an adhesive 80. Each of the firstand second semiconductor chips 72 and 74 may be electrically connectedto the fifth connecting pads 64 disposed on the second package substrate60 through the bonding wires 82 connected to chip pads 78 disposed on atop surface of each of the first and second semiconductor chips 72 and74. A second molding compound layer 86 may be provided on the topsurface 60 a of the second package substrate 60 to seal the first andsecond semiconductor chips 72 and 74. The fifth connecting pads 64 andthe sixth connecting pads 66 of the second package substrate 60 may beelectrically connected to each other through interconnections disposedwithin the second package substrate 60. The second package substrate 60may include a ground layer 67. The ground layer 67 may include a metalconductive layer. For example, the ground layer 67 may include copperand/or a copper alloy. The ground layer 67 may extend to an outerperiphery of the second package substrate 60. The ground layer 67 mayhave a plane-shape.

The first via-connecting terminals 28 may electrically connect the lowerpackage 100 to the interposer 30 of the semiconductor package device300. The first via-connecting terminals 28 may be connected to the firstconnecting pads 14 of the first package substrate 10 disposed around thefirst semiconductor chip 20 and the fourth connecting pads 34 of theinterposer 30, so as to connect the lower package 100 to the interposer30. The first via-connecting terminals 28 may be, for example, solderbumps. The first via-connecting terminals 28 may include copper, nickel,gold, indium, bismuth, tin, and/or other non-reactive metals.

The first via-connecting terminals 28 may be disposed in the firstmolding compound layer 24 around the first semiconductor chip 20. Atleast one of the first via-connecting terminals 28 may extend from thetop surface 24 a of the first molding compound layer 24 to the secondsurface 30 b of the interposer 30 so as to be connected to the fourthconnecting pad 34. The first via-connecting terminals 28 may be spacedapart from each other with a distance a therebetween. The firstvia-connecting terminals 28 may be disposed around the firstsemiconductor chip 20. The distance of the first via-connectingterminals 28 may be equal or similar to a distance between the moldingvia-holes 26.

The second via-connecting terminals 68 may electrically connect theinterposer 30 to the upper package 200 of the semiconductor packagedevice 300. The second via-connecting terminals 68 may be connected tothe third connecting pads 32 of the interposer 30 and the sixthconnecting pads 66 of the second package substrate 60 so as to connectthe interposer 30 to the upper package 200. The second via-connectingterminals 68 may be, for example, solder bumps. The secondvia-connecting terminals 68 may include copper, nickel, gold, indium,bismuth, tin, and/or other non-reactive metals. The secondvia-connecting terminals 68 may be spaced apart from each other with adistance b therebetween. The ground layer 38 of the interposer 30 may beelectrically connected to the ground layer 67 of the second packagesubstrate 60 of the upper package 200 through the second via-connectingterminal 68.

Signals (e.g., data input/output signals and a power signal) generatedfrom an external system and/or the semiconductor chips 20, 72 and 74 maybe transmitted through the first via-connecting terminals 28 and thesecond via-connecting terminals 68.

The heat transfer member 50 may include a first portion 50 a disposedbetween the second surface 60 b of the second package substrate 60 andthe top surface 30 a of the interposer 30, a second portion 50 bdisposed in the at least one opening 40 of the interposer 30, and athird portion 50 c disposed between the interposer 30 and the lowerpackage 100 (e.g., between the second surface 30 b of the interposer 30and the first surface 20 a of the first semiconductor chip 20). Thefirst surface 20 a of the first semiconductor chip 20 may be anon-active surface on which integrated circuits are not disposed. Theheat transfer member 50 may be a conductive or non-conductive thermalinterface material (TIM). The TIM may be a material formed by mixing aresin material with a thermal conductive filler. For example, the resinmaterial may be an addition curable silicone composition. For example,the thermal conductive filler may be particles or powder of a conductivematerial (e.g., silver (Ag) and/or aluminum (Al)), and/or particles orpowder of a non-conductive material (e.g., aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and/orsilicon dioxide (SiO₂)). The heat transfer member 50 may have anadhesive function.

The heat transfer member 50 may be formed by coating a liquid heattransfer material on the interposer 30 (e.g., the region of theinterposer 30 overlapping with the first semiconductor chip 20) andapplying heat to solidify the liquid heat transfer material. At thistime, since the heat transfer member 50 has the fluidity, the heattransfer member 50 may flow into the at least one opening 40 (e.g., theat least one first opening 42) of the interposer 30 to fill a gapbetween the lower package 100 and the interposer 30 and to contact thefirst surface 20 a of the first semiconductor chip 20. The heat transfermember 50 may further expand to be disposed in the second opening 44.

The heat transfer member 50 may be connected to the ground layer 38 ofthe interposer 30. For example, the second portion 50 b of the heattransfer member 50, which is disposed in the at least one opening 40 ofthe interposer 30, may be connected to the ground layer 38.Additionally, the third portion 50 c of the heat transfer member 50 mayalso be connected to the ground layer 38. In other embodiments, if theground layer 38 is provided on the first surface 30 a of the interposer30, the first portion 50 a of the heat transfer member 50 may also beconnected to the ground layer 38. Thus, if the heat transfer member 50is a material having conductivity, a ground layer of the semiconductorpackage device 300 may further expand to increase the stability of thesupply of the power voltage. The ground layer of the semiconductorpackage device 300 may be expanded by an area of the heat transfermember 50 as well as the areas of the ground layers 38, 19 and 67 of theinterposer 30 and the lower and upper packages 100 and 200. Thus, theimpedance of the semiconductor package device 300 may be markedlyreduced. As a result, the power voltage may be stably applied to thesemiconductor chips 20, 72 and 74 of the semiconductor package device300 such that electrical characteristics of the semiconductor packagedevice 300 may be improved.

If the first semiconductor chip 20 of the lower package 100 is a logicdevice chip (e.g., a microprocessor, an application processor and/or acontroller), an amount of heat may be generated from the firstsemiconductor chip 20 during operation of controlling a system. The heatmay be released through the heat transfer member 50 outside the upperpackage 200. Since the third portion 50 c of the heat transfer member 50is in direct contact with the first surface 20 a of the firstsemiconductor chip 20, the heat generated from the first semiconductorchip 20 may be transferred to the second package substrate 60 throughthe second portion 50 b in the opening 42 and the first portion 50 a ofthe heat transfer member 50. Thus, the heat may be released to theoutside of the upper package 200. Additionally, the heat generated fromthe first semiconductor chip 20 may also be transferred to the firstpackage substrate 10 through the ground layer 38 of the interposer 30and the first via-connecting terminal 28, so as to be released to theoutside of the lower package 100. Moreover, the heat generated from thefirst semiconductor chip 20 may also be transferred to the secondpackage substrate 60 through the ground layer 38 and the secondvia-connecting terminal 68, so as to be released to the outside of theupper package 200. As a result, a heat release effect of thesemiconductor package device 300 may be increased due to the heattransfer member 50 which is in contact with the ground layer 38 of theinterposer 30.

FIGS. 3A to 3H are plan views illustrating modified examples of a designof the interposer 30, on which the heat transfer member 50 is disposed,in the semiconductor package device 300 illustrated in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 3A to 3H, the interposer 30 may include anoverlapping region 30-1 overlapping with the first semiconductor chip 20of the lower package 100, and a non-overlapping region 30-2 notoverlapping with the first semiconductor chip 20. The non-overlappingregion 30-2 may correspond to an outer region disposed outside theoverlapping region 30-1. The heat transfer member 50 may be disposed onthe interposer 30. The at least one first opening 42 of the openings 40of the interposer 30 may be disposed in the overlapping region 30-1, andthe at least one second openings 44 of the openings 40 may be disposedin the non-overlapping region 30-2 to surround the at least one firstopening 42.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the first openings 42 and the second openings 44may have hole-shapes. The hole-shapes may be circular shapes orelliptical shapes. Referring to FIG. 3B, the first openings 42 may havehole-shapes, and the second openings 44 may have slit-shapes. Forexample, the slit-shape may be a shape extending lengthwise in lineartype or elliptical type. Referring to FIG. 3C, the first openings 42 mayhave slit-shapes, and the second openings 44 may have hole-shapes.Referring to FIG. 3D, all of the first and second openings 42 and 44 mayhave slit-shapes. Referring to FIG. 3E, the first openings 42 and thesecond openings 44 may have quadrilateral hole-shapes. However, theinventive concepts are not limited thereto. In other embodiments, thefirst openings 42 and the second openings 44 may have polygonalhole-shapes.

Referring to FIG. 3F, the first openings 42 may be disposed locally inthe overlapping region 30-1 of the interposer 30. The second openings 44may be disposed locally in the non-overlapping region 30-2 to surroundthe first openings 42. The region 30-1 a in which the first openings 42are formed locally may be a region of the interposer 30, which overlapswith a heat generating circuit part 20 a, which generates a lot of heatduring operation, of circuit parts of the first semiconductor chip 20.Thus, the heat generated from the heat generating circuit part 20 a ofthe first semiconductor chip 20 may be intensively released outwardthrough a small quantity of the heat transfer member 50 which isprovided in the first opening 42 of the overlapping region 30-1 of theinterposer 30 and is provided locally on the overlapping region 30-1around the first opening 42. As a result, the heat release effect of thesemiconductor package 300 may be improved.

Referring to FIG. 3G, the first opening 42 may have one enlargedhole-shape, and the second opening 44 may include a plurality of secondopenings 44 having hole-shapes. Referring to FIG. 3H, the first opening42 may have one enlarged hole-shape, and the second opening 44 mayinclude a plurality of second openings 44 having slit-shapes. A size ofthe first opening 42 having the enlarged hole-shape may be increased tobe similar or equal to a size of the overlapping region 30-1. Thus, acontact area of the heat transfer member 50 in the first opening 42 andthe first semiconductor chip 20 may be increased by the first opening 42having the enlarged area, so that the heat release effect may be moreimproved.

Additionally, a flow of the heat transfer member 50 toward the secondvia-connecting terminal 68 may be finally interrupted by the at leastone first opening 42 and the second openings 44 surrounding the at leastone first opening 42. The at least one opening 40 of the interposer 30may reduce or prevent the electrical short between the secondvia-connecting terminals 68 or the connection failure between the thirdconnecting pads 32 and the second via-connecting terminals 68, which iscaused by the heat transfer member 50 flowing to the secondvia-connecting terminals 68 or the third connecting pads 32. Thus, theelectrical signals may be easily transmitted between the lower package100 and the upper package 200 without the interference of the heattransfer member 50. As a result, high reliable semiconductor packagedevice 300 may be realized.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 310 according to other embodiments of the inventive concepts, andFIG. 4B is a plan view illustrating an interposer 30, on which a heattransfer member 50 is disposed, in the semiconductor package device 310illustrated in FIG. 4A. In the present embodiment, the descriptions tothe same elements as described in FIGS. 1A, 2 and 3A to 3H will beomitted for the purpose of ease and convenience in explanation. In otherwords, differences between the present embodiment and the aforementionedembodiment will be mainly described hereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, at least one first opening 42 of theinterposer 30 may be disposed in the overlapping region 30-1 of theinterposer 30, which overlaps with the first semiconductor chip 20 ofthe lower package 100. At least one second opening 44 of the interposer30 may disposed over both of the overlapping region 30-1 and thenon-overlapping region 30-2 at a boundary region between the overlappingregion 30-1 and the non-overlapping region 30-2. Thus, the secondopening 44 may expose both the top surface 24 a of the first moldingcompound layer 24 and the first surface 20 a of the first semiconductorchip 20 which are disposed under the second opening 44. Additionally, adistance between the second opening 44 and the first opening 42 may beless than a distance between the first openings 42. The heat transfermember 50 may extend into the second opening 44 and a space between theinterposer 30 under the second opening 44 and the lower package 100, sothat a contact area of the heat transfer member 50 and the firstsemiconductor chip 20 may be increased.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 320 according to still other embodiments of the inventiveconcepts. In the present embodiment, the descriptions to the sameelements as described in FIG. 1A will be omitted for the purpose of easeand convenience in explanation. In other words, differences between thepresent embodiment and the aforementioned embodiments will be mainlydescribed hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second opening 44 of the interposer 30 may notpenetrate the interposer 30. The second opening 44 may be a concaveregion where a portion of the interposer 30 is recessed. For example,the portion of the interposer 30 may be recessed until a top surface ofthe ground layer 38 of the interposer 30 is exposed, thereby forming thesecond opening 44. The second opening 44 may be a groove completelysurrounding the at least one first opening 42. The openings 40 havingthe shapes illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3H may be applied to thesemiconductor package device 320 when viewed from a plan view.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 330 according to yet other embodiments of the inventive concepts.In the present embodiment, the descriptions to the same elements asdescribed in FIGS. 1A, and 2 to 5 will be omitted for the purpose ofease and convenience in explanation. In other words, differences betweenthe present embodiment and the aforementioned embodiments will be mainlydescribed hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 6, an opening 40 of the interposer 30 may include aplurality of first openings 42 and at least one second opening 44surrounding the first openings 42. The first opening 42 may include afirst region 42 a and a second region 42 b disposed under the firstregion 42 a. The first region 42 a of the first opening 42 may be aconcave region where a portion of the interposer 30 is recessed. Thesecond region 42 b of the first opening 42 may be a through-openingpenetrating a lower portion of the interposer 30. For example, the firstregion 42 a of the concave region may be formed in the region of theinterposer 30, which overlaps with the first semiconductor chip 20. Aplurality of the second regions 42 b being the through-openings may beformed under the first region 42 a. A width of the first region 42 a maybe greater than a width of the second region 42 b. The second region 42b may be a through-hole or a through-slit. The second opening 44 of theinterposer 30 may also be a through-opening including a lower region andan upper region having a width greater than that of the lower region.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 340 according to yet still other embodiments of the inventiveconcepts, and FIGS. 7B and 7C are plan views illustrating modifiedexamples of a design of an interposer 30, on which a heat transfermember 50 is disposed, in the semiconductor package device 340illustrated in FIG. 7A. Hereinafter, the descriptions to the sameelements as described in FIGS. 1A, and 2 to 6 will be omitted, anddifferences between the present embodiment and the aforementionedembodiments will be mainly described.

Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7C, a first opening 42 of the interposer 30 ofthe semiconductor package device 340 may include a first region 42 aconsisting of one concave region, and a second region 42 b having aplurality of through-openings, as compared with the semiconductorpackage 330 illustrated in FIG. 6. The second region 42 b may have, butnot limited to, a through-hole-shape illustrated in FIGS. 7B and 7C. Inother embodiments, the second region 42 b may be a through-slit. Asecond opening 44 of the interposer 30 of the semiconductor packagedevice 340 may be an opening having a lower region and an upper regionwhich have the same width. For example, the second opening 44 may be athrough-hole or through-slit penetrating the interposer 30. The firstregion 42 a of the first opening 42 of the interposer 30 may be enlargedto have a size similar to that of the overlapping region 30-1, whichoverlaps with the first semiconductor chip 20, of the interposer 30.Thus, since the first region 42 a of the first opening 42 has a concaveshape of the wide size, the heat transfer member 50 may be stored in theoverlapping region 30-1 overlapping with the first semiconductor chip20. As a result, it is possible to reduce or prevent the heat transfermember 50 from flowing outside the overlapping region 30-1.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 350 according to yet still embodiments of the inventive concepts.Hereinafter, the descriptions to the same elements as described in FIGS.1A, and 2 to 7C will be omitted, and differences between the presentembodiment and the aforementioned embodiments will be mainly described.

Referring to FIG. 8, an interposer 30 of the semiconductor packagedevice 350 may include a first opening 42 including a first region 42 athat has one concave region further enlarged outside a regionoverlapping with the first semiconductor chip 20 (e.g., the overlappingregion 30-1 illustrated in FIGS. 7B and 7C). For example, a secondopening may not be formed, but the first region 42 a may be enlargedmore than an overlapping area of the first semiconductor chip 20 and theinterposer 30. The first opening 42 may further include a plurality ofsecond regions 42 b of through-openings under the first region 42 a.

As described above, since the first region 42 a of the first opening 42of the interposer 30 has at least one concave region having the widearea in the semiconductor package devices 330, 340 and 350 illustratedin FIGS. 6 to 8, the heat transfer member 50 may be stored in the firstregion 42 a and may be reduced or prevented from flowing outside thefirst region 42 a.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 360 according to yet still embodiments of the inventive concepts.Hereinafter, the descriptions to the same elements as described in FIG.1A will be omitted, and differences between the present embodiment andthe aforementioned embodiments will be mainly described.

Referring to FIG. 9, an interposer 30 of the semiconductor package 360may include a first opening 42 having one concave region furtherenlarged outside a region overlapping with the first semiconductor chip20. For example, the first opening 42 may be a concave region where aportion of the interposer 30 is recessed. The first opening 42 mayexpose the ground layer 38 of the interposer 30. A third portion 50 c ofthe heat transfer member 50 may be separated from first and secondportions 50 a and 50 b of the heat transfer member 50. The third portion50 c of the heat transfer member 50 may be provided on the firstsemiconductor chip 20 when the lower package 100 is combined with theinterposer 30. Thus, the third portion 50 c of the heat transfer member50 may be formed to be connected to the ground layer 38 of theinterposer 30. The first portion 50 a and the second portion 50 b of theheat transfer member 50 may be provided on the interposer 30 and in thefirst opening 42 when the interposer 30 is combined with the upperpackage 200. Thus, heat generated during operation of the firstsemiconductor chip 20 may be transferred to the second portion 50 b andthe first portion 50 a of the heat transfer member 50 through the thirdportion 50 c of the heat transfer member 50 and the ground layer 38contacting the third portion 50 c of the interposer 30, and the heat maybe released outward through the upper package 200 contacting the heattransfer member 50. Additionally, the heat generated from the firstsemiconductor chip 20 may be transferred to the first package substrate10 through the first via-connecting terminal 28 connected to the groundlayer 38 of the interposer 30, and the heat may be then released to theoutside of the lower package 100.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor packagedevice 370 according to yet still embodiments of the inventive concepts.Hereinafter, the descriptions to the same elements as described in FIG.1A will be omitted, and differences between the present embodiment andthe aforementioned embodiments will be mainly described.

Referring to FIG. 10, an upper package 200 of the semiconductor packagedevice 370 may have upper semiconductor chips 70 including a pluralityof semiconductor chips spaced apart from each other and mounted on thesecond package substrate 60. For example, the upper semiconductor chips70 may include a second semiconductor chip 72 and a third semiconductorchip 74 that are disposed in parallel to each other. The secondsemiconductor chip 72 and the third semiconductor chip 74 may be mountedon the second package substrate 60 of the upper package 200 by a flipchip bonding technique. On the other hand, the second semiconductor chip72 may include at least two stacked semiconductor chips. For example,the second semiconductor chip 72 may be a memory chip such as a DRAMchip, a flash memory chip, a MRAM chip, a PRAM chip, a ReRAM chip,and/or a SRAM chip. For example, the third semiconductor chip 74 may bea logic chip such as a controller and/or a communication chip. Thesecond semiconductor chip 72 may be electrically connected to the fifthconnecting pads 64 disposed on the second package substrate 60 throughsecond chip connecting terminals 84 provided under the secondsemiconductor chip 72. The third semiconductor chip 74 may beelectrically connected to the fifth connecting pads 64 disposed on thesecond package substrate 60 through third chip connecting terminals 85provided under the third semiconductor chip 74. The second chipconnecting terminals 84 connected to the second semiconductor chip 72may be spaced apart from each other with a distance j therebetween. Thesecond chip connecting terminals 84 may be connected to correspondingones of the fifth connecting pads 64 of the second package substrate 60,respectively. The third chip connecting terminals 85 connected to thethird semiconductor chip 74 may be spaced apart from each other with adistance h therebetween. The third chip connecting terminals 85 may beconnected to corresponding ones of the fifth connecting pads 64 of thesecond package substrate 60, respectively. The distance j may bedifferent from the distance h. For example, the distance j may begreater than the distance h. The second chip connecting terminals 84 andthe third chip connecting terminals 85 may be solder bumps. The secondmolding compound layer 86 may seal the second semiconductor chip 72 andthe third semiconductor chip 74.

FIG. 11 is an exploded cross-sectional view illustrating a method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor package device according to yet stillembodiments of the inventive concepts. FIG. 12 is a flowchartillustrating a method of manufacturing a semiconductor package deviceaccording to yet still embodiments of the inventive concepts.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, a manufacturing method 500 of asemiconductor package device may include a process 510 of providing alower package 100. The lower package 100 includes a first packagesubstrate 10. The first package substrate 10 may be, for example, aprinted circuit board (PCB). The first package substrate 10 may have afirst surface 10 a and a second surface 10 b opposite to each other. Thefirst package substrate 10 may include first connecting pads 14 formedon the first surface 10 a, and second connecting pads 16 formed on thesecond surface 10 b. The first connecting pads 14 may be electricallyconnected to the second connecting pads 16 through interconnectionsdisposed within the first package substrate 10. The first packagesubstrate 10 may include a ground layer 19. The ground layer 19 mayinclude a metal conductive layer. For example, the ground layer 19 mayinclude copper or a copper alloy.

External connecting terminals 18 may be formed to correspond to thesecond connecting pads 16, respectively. The external connectingterminals 18 may be, for example, solder balls arranged in an arrayform. The external connecting terminals 18 may include copper, nickel,gold, indium, bismuth, tin, and/or other non-reactive metals.

A lower semiconductor chip, i.e., a first semiconductor chip 20 may bemounted on the first package substrate 10 by a flip-chip bondingtechnique, so that a second surface 20 b of the first semiconductor chip20 may face the first surface 10 a of the first package substrate 10.The first semiconductor chip 20 may be electrically connected to theinterconnections disposed within the first package substrate 10 throughfirst chip connecting terminals 22 and the first connecting pads 14. Thesecond surface 20 b of the first semiconductor chip 20 may be an activesurface on which integrated circuits are disposed. On the other hand, afirst surface 20 a of the first semiconductor chip 20 may be anon-active surface on which integrated circuits are not disposed. Thefirst chip connecting terminals 22 may be, for example, solder bumps.

For example, the first semiconductor chip 20 may be a logic device suchas a microprocessor, an application processor, or a controller. However,the inventive concepts are not limited thereto.

A first molding compound layer 24 may be formed on the first surface 10a of the first package substrate 10 to seal at least a portion of asidewall of the first semiconductor chip 20. The first molding compoundlayer 24 may fill a space between the second surface 20 b of the firstsemiconductor chip 20 and the first surface 10 a of the first packagesubstrate 10. The first molding compound layer 24 may be planarized toexpose the first surface 20 a of the first semiconductor chip 20. Thus,a top surface 24 a of the first molding compound layer 24 may besubstantially coplanar with the first surface 20 a of the firstsemiconductor chip 20. The first molding compound layer 24 may includemolding via-holes 26. The molding via-holes 26 may be spaced apart fromthe first semiconductor chip 20. In some embodiments, portions of thefirst molding compound layer 24 may be removed using a laser drilledprocess (LDP) to form the molding via-holes 26. Alternatively, theportions of the first molding compound layer 24 may be removed using ageneral etching process instead of the laser drilled process (LDP) toform the molding via-holes 26. Each of the molding via-holes 26 may havean inclined sidewall profile.

First inner connecting terminals 27 may be formed in the moldingvia-holes 26, respectively. The first inner connecting terminals 27 maybe used in order to form the first via-connecting terminals 28illustrated in FIG. 1A in a subsequent process 530. The first innerconnecting terminals 27 may be, for example, solder bumps. For example,the first inner connecting terminals 27 may include copper, nickel,gold, indium, bismuth, tin, and/or other non-reactive metals. The firstinner connecting terminals 27 may be formed to respectively correspondto the first connecting pads 14 disposed around the first semiconductorchip 20 on the first package substrate 10. The first inner connectingterminals 27 may be spaced apart from each other with a distance a′therebetween and may be adjacent to a periphery of the first packagesubstrate 10. The first inner connecting terminals 27 may be formed tobe connected to the first connecting pads 14 exposed by the moldingvia-holes 26 after the formation of the molding via-holes 26.Alternatively, the first inner connecting terminals 27 may be formed tobe connected to the first connecting pads 14 before the formation of thefirst molding compound layer 24, and the first inner connectingterminals 27 may be then exposed when the molding via-holes 26 areexposed.

The method 500 of manufacturing the semiconductor package device mayinclude a process 520 of providing an interposer 30. The interposer 30may be, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB). The interposer 30may be a medium electrically connecting the lower package 100 to anupper package 200. The interposer 30 may include a first surface 30 aand a second surface 30 b opposite to each other. For example, the firstsurface 30 a of the interposer 30 may be a top surface of the interposer30, and the second surface 30 b of the interposer 30 may be a bottomsurface of the interposer 30. Third connecting pads 32 may be formed onthe first surface 30 a of the interposer 30, and fourth connecting pads34 may be formed on the second surface 30 b of the interposer 30. Thethird connecting pads 32 may be electrically connected to the fourthconnecting pads 34 through interconnection disposed within theinterposer 30. A distance between the third connecting pads 32 may bedifferent from a distance between the fourth connecting pads 34. Forexample, the distance between the third connecting pads 32 may begreater than the distance between the fourth connecting pads 34. Thethird connecting pads 32 may be spaced apart from each other with adistance for corresponding to connection with second via-connectingterminals 68 of the upper package 200 in a subsequent process 550 ofcombining the interposer 30 with the upper package 200.

Second inner connecting terminals 35 may be formed to respectivelycorrespond to the fourth connecting pads 34 on the second surface 30 bof the interposer 30. The second inner connecting terminals 35 may bespaced apart from each other with the distance a′ therebetween such thatthe second inner connecting terminals 35 are respectively connected tothe first inner connecting terminals 27 of the lower package 100. Due tothis arrangement of the second inner connecting terminals 35, the firstinner connecting terminals 27 may be exactly aligned with the secondinner connecting terminals 35 in the subsequent process 530 of combiningthe interposer 30 with the lower package 100. The second innerconnecting terminals 35 may be, for example, solder bumps. For example,the second inner connecting terminals 35 may include at least one ofcopper, nickel, gold, indium, bismuth, tin, and other non-reactivemetals.

The interposer 30 may include an opening 40. The opening 40 may includeat least one first opening 42 and at least one second opening 44. Thefirst opening 42 may be formed in a region of the interposer 30, whichcorresponds to the first semiconductor chip 20 of the lower package 100.In other words, the first opening 42 may be formed in an overlappingregion of the interposer 30, which is aligned and overlaps with thefirst semiconductor chip 20 of the lower package 100. The second opening44 may be formed to be spaced apart from the overlapping region of theinterposer 30 by a predetermined distance (e.g., the distance gextending from the first semiconductor chip 20 in a direction parallelto the top surface 24 a of the first molding compound layer 24). The atleast one second opening 44 may surround the at least one first opening42. The first opening 42 may be an opening having a first width c andpenetrating the interposer 30. The second opening 44 may be an openinghaving a second width d and penetrating interposer 30. The first width cof the first opening 42 may be different from the second width d of thesecond opening 44. For example, the first width c of the first opening42 may be greater than the second width d of the second opening 44. Eachof the first and second openings 42 and 44 may be a through-hole or athrough-slit.

A ground layer 38 may be disposed within the interposer 30. The groundlayer 38 may include a metal conductive layer. For example, the groundlayer 38 may include a metal such as copper or a copper alloy. Theground layer 38 may have a mesh-shape or plane-shape having a sizegreater than that of the first semiconductor chip 20. At least one firstopening 42 may penetrate the ground layer 38. The ground layer 38 may beconnected to, for example, at least one of the fourth connecting pads34. Additionally, the ground layer 38 may be connected to at least oneof the third connecting pads 32 through a connecting line 31 of theinterposer 30. Thus, the ground layer 38 may be connected to both the atleast one of the third connecting pads 32 and the at least one of thefourth connecting pads 34. The ground layer 38 of the interposer 30 mayincrease a ground area along with the ground layer 19 of the firstpackage substrate 10 that will be combined with the interposer 30 in asubsequent process. Thus, impedance of the semiconductor package device300 may be reduced to stably provide a power to semiconductor chips ofthe semiconductor package device 300. The interposer 30 may include atleast one of the shapes and the arrangement of the openings illustratedin FIGS. 3A to 3H. Additionally, the interposer 30 may include at leastone of the structures illustrated in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7A, 7B, 7C, 8and 9.

The method 500 of manufacturing the semiconductor package device mayinclude a process 530 of combining the interposer 30 with the lowerpackage 100. The interposer 30 may be aligned and disposed on the lowerpackage 100. The second inner connecting terminals 35 of the interposer30 are disposed to be aligned with the first inner connecting terminals27 of the lower package 100. The second inner connecting terminals 35 ofthe interposer 30 may be connected to the first inner connectingterminals 27 in the molding via-holes 26 of the lower package 100,respectively. The connected first and second inner connecting terminals27 and 35 may be combined with each other by a reflow process, therebyforming the first via-connecting terminals 28 illustrated in FIG. 1A. Atthis time, a gap or space may be generated between the lower package 100and the interposer 30.

The method 500 of manufacturing the semiconductor package device mayinclude a process 540 of providing a heat transfer member 50 on theinterposer 30. The heat transfer member 50 may be dispensed on theinterposer 30 in a liquid state. For example, the heat transfer member50 may be dispensed on the region where the first opening 42 is formed.At this time, since the heat transfer member 50 has fluidity, the heattransfer member 50 may flow into at least one first opening 42 of theopenings 40 of the interposer 30 as well as on the first surface 30 a ofthe interposer 30. The heat transfer member 50 in the first opening 42may further flow into a space between the first semiconductor chip 20and the interposer 30, so as to be connected to the first surface 20 aof the first semiconductor chip 20. Thereafter, the heat transfer member50 may be solidified by a heating process. The solidified heat transfermember 50 may include a first portion 50 a disposed on the interposer30, a second portion 50 b disposed in the at least one opening 40 of theinterposer 30, and a third portion 50 c disposed in the space betweenthe interposer 30 and the lower package 100 (e.g., the space between thesecond surface 30 b of the interposer 30 and the first surface 20 a ofthe first semiconductor chip 20). The at least one opening 40 of theinterposer 30 may reduce or prevent the heat transfer member 50 fromflowing to the third connecting pad 32. As a result, it is possible toreduce or prevent the third connecting pad 32 from not being combinedwith a third inner connecting terminal 68′ of the upper package 200 bycontamination of the heat transfer member in a subsequent process ofcombining the upper package 200 with the interposer 30, or it ispossible to reduce or prevent an electrical short between the thirdconnecting pads 32 by the contamination of the heat transfer member.Thus, the second via-connecting terminals 68 of FIG. 1A may be easilyformed to improve reliability of the semiconductor package device 300.

The heat transfer member 50 may be formed of a conductive ornon-conductive thermal interface material (TIM). For example, the TIMmay be a material formed by mixing a resin material with a thermalconductive filler. For example, the resin material may be an additioncurable silicone composition. For example, the thermal conductive fillermay be particles or powder of a conductive material (e.g., silver (Ag)and/or aluminum (Al)), and/or particles and/or powder of anon-conductive material (e.g., aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and/or silicondioxide (SiO₂)). The heat transfer member 50 may have an adhesivefunction.

The heat transfer member 50 may be connected to the ground layer 38 ofthe interposer 30. Thus, if the heat transfer member 50 includes amaterial having conductivity, an area of the ground layer of thesemiconductor package device 300 may further expand to increase thestability of the supply of the power voltage.

The method 500 of manufacturing the semiconductor package device mayinclude a process 550 of providing the upper package 200 on theinterposer 30 with the heat transfer member 50 therebetween. The upperpackage 200 may be provided on the interposer 30 on which the heattransfer member 50 is disposed. The upper package 200 may include asecond package substrate 60. The second package substrate 60 may be, forexample, a printed circuit board (PCB). The second package substrate 60may include a first surface 60 a and a second surface 60 b opposite toeach other. In other words, the first surface 60 a and the secondsurface 60 b of the second package substrate 60 may be a top surface anda bottom surface of the second package substrate 60, respectively. Fifthconnecting pads 64 may be disposed on the first surface 60 a of thesecond package substrate 60, and sixth connecting pads 66 may bedisposed on the second surface 60 b of the second package substrate 60.The fifth connecting pads 64 may be electrically connected tocorresponding bonding wires 82, respectively. The sixth connecting pads66 may be connected to corresponding third inner connecting terminals68′, respectively. The third inner connecting terminals 68′ may be, forexample, solder bumps. For example, the third inner connecting terminals68′ may include at least one of copper, nickel, gold, indium, bismuth,tin, and other non-reactive metals. At least one upper semiconductorchip 70 may be mounted on the second package substrate 60. For example,a second semiconductor chip 72 and a third semiconductor chip 74 may bestacked to be mounted on the second package substrate 60. The secondsemiconductor chip 72 or the third semiconductor chip 74 may include,for example, a memory chip such as a DRAM chip, a flash memory chip, aMRAM chip, a PRAM chip, a ReRAM chip, and/or a SRAM chip. Each of thefirst and second semiconductor chips 72 and 74 may be electricallyconnected to the fifth connecting pads 64 disposed on the second packagesubstrate 60 through the bonding wires 82 connected to chip pads 78disposed on a top surface of each of the first and second semiconductorchips 72 and 74. The second semiconductor chip 72 may be bonded to thesecond package substrate 60 by an adhesive 80, and the thirdsemiconductor chip 74 may be bonded to the second semiconductor chip 72by an adhesive 80.

On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the second semiconductorchip 72 and the third semiconductor chip 74 may be mounted in parallelon the second package substrate 60 by a flip chip bonding technique. Thesecond semiconductor chip 72 may be, for example, a memory chip such asa DRAM chip, a flash memory chip, a MRAM chip, a PRAM chip, a ReRAMchip, or a SRAM chip. The third semiconductor chip 74 may be, forexample, a logic chip such as a controller and/or a communication chip.The second semiconductor chip 72 may include one chip or at least twostacked chips. The second semiconductor chip 72 may be electricallyconnected to the fifth connecting pads 64 disposed on the second packagesubstrate 60 through second chip connecting terminals 84 provided underthe second semiconductor chip 72. The third semiconductor chip 74 may beelectrically connected to the fifth connecting pads 64 disposed on thesecond package substrate 60 through third chip connecting terminals 85provided under the third semiconductor chip 74. The second chipconnecting terminals 84 connected to the second semiconductor chip 72may be spaced apart from each other with a distance j therebetween andmay be connected to corresponding ones of the fifth connecting pads 64of the second package substrate 60, respectively. The third chipconnecting terminals 85 connected to the third semiconductor chip 74 maybe spaced apart from each other with a distance h therebetween and maybe connected to corresponding ones of the fifth connecting pads 64 ofthe second package substrate 60, respectively. The distance j may bedifferent from the distance h. For example, the distance j may begreater than the distance h. The second chip connecting terminals 84 andthe third chip connecting terminals 85 may be solder bumps.

A second molding compound layer 86 may be disposed on the first surface60 a of the second package substrate 60 to seal the second semiconductorchip 72 and the third semiconductor chip 74. The fifth connecting pads64 and the sixth connecting pads 66 of the second package substrate 60may be electrically connected to each other through interconnectionsdisposed within the second package substrate 60. The second packagesubstrate 60 may include a ground layer 67. The ground layer 67 mayinclude a metal conductive layer. The ground layer 67 may include, forexample, copper and/or a copper alloy.

The method 500 of manufacturing the semiconductor package device mayinclude a process 560 of combining the lower package 100, the interposer30, the heat transfer member 50 and the upper package 200 with eachother. The upper package 200 may be disposed to be aligned on theinterposer 30 that is combined with the lower package 100 and isprovided with the heat transfer member 50. For example, the third innerconnecting terminals 68′ of the upper package 200 may be aligned withand then connected to the third connecting pads 32 of the interposer 30,respectively. The third inner connecting terminals 68′ may be reflowedto enhance adhesive strength between the third inner connectingterminals 68′ and the third connecting pads 32, thereby forming thesecond via-connecting terminals 68 electrically connecting the upperpackage 200 to the interposer 30 in FIG. 1A. At this time, the heattransfer member 50 may not be solidified in the process 540 but may beheated to be solidified during the reflow process of the third innerconnecting terminals 68′. When the heat transfer member 50 is heated inorder to be solidified, the fluidity of the heat transfer member 50 maybe increased. However, a portion of the heat transfer member 50 may bestored into the openings 40 of the interposer 30 such that the flow ofthe heat transfer member 50 can be interrupted. Thus, it is possible toreduce or prevent the electrical short between the second via-connectingterminals 68 or the connection failure between the second via-connectingterminals 68 and the third connecting pads 32, which is caused by thecontact between the heat transfer member 50 and the secondvia-connecting terminals 68.

Since the upper package 200 is combined with the interposer 30 combinedwith the lower package 100 by the formation of the second via-connectingterminals 68, the semiconductor package device 300 illustrated in FIG.1A may be manufactured. The semiconductor package device 300 is thepackage-on-package (PoP) device including the lower package 100 and theupper package 200 connected to each other through the first and secondvia-connecting terminals 28 and 68. The semiconductor package devices310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 and 370 according to other embodiments maybe manufactured by the same method as described above.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a memory systemincluding a semiconductor package device according to some embodimentsof the inventive concepts.

Referring to FIG. 13, a memory system 1000 according to some embodimentsof the inventive concepts may be a semiconductor storage device. Forexample, the memory system 1000 may be a memory card and/or a solidstate disk (SSD) device. The memory system 1000 may include a controller1200 and a memory 1300 that are disposed in a housing 1100. Thecontroller 1200 and the memory 1300 may exchange electrical signals witheach other. For example, the memory 1300 and the controller 1200 mayexchange data with each other in response to a command of the controller1200. Thus, the memory system 1000 may store the data in the memory 1300or may output the data from the memory 1300 to the outside of the memorysystem 1000. The controller 1200 and/or the memory 1300 may include atleast one of the semiconductor package devices according to variousembodiments of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an electronic systemincluding a semiconductor package device according to some embodimentsof the inventive concepts.

Referring to FIG. 14, an electronic system 2000 may include a controller2200, a memory device 2300, and an input/output (I/O) device 2400. Thecontroller 2200, the memory device 2300, and the I/O device 2400 may becombined with each other through a data bus 2100. The data bus 2100 maycorrespond to a path through which data are transmitted. For example,the controller 2200 may include a microprocessor, a digital signalprocessor, a microcontroller, and/or other logic device having a similarfunction to any one thereof. The I/O device 2409 may include a keypad, akeyboard, and/or a display device. The memory device 2300 is a devicestoring data. The memory device 2300 may store data and/or commandsexecuted by the controller 2200. The memory device 2300 may include avolatile memory device and/or a non-volatile memory device. In someembodiments, the memory device may include a flash memory device. Theflash memory device may be realized as a solid state disk (SSD). In thiscase, the electronic system 2000 may stably store massive data in thememory device 2300. The controller 2200, the memory device 2300 and/orany of the other elements of FIG. 14 may include at least one of thesemiconductor package devices according to various embodiments of theinventive concepts. The electronic system 2000 may further includeinterface unit 2500 for transmitting data to a communication networkand/or receiving data from a communication network. The interface unit2500 may operate by wireless and/or cable. For example, the interfaceunit 2500 may include an antenna for wireless communication and/or atransceiver for cable communication.

The semiconductor package device according to embodiments of theinventive concepts includes the heat transfer member disposed betweenthe interposer and the upper package, in the opening of the interposerand between the interposer and the lower package. Thus, the heatgenerated from the first semiconductor chip of the lower package may betransferred to the upper package such that the semiconductor packagedevice may have the excellent heat release effect.

In the semiconductor package device according to embodiments of theinventive concepts, the opening may be formed in the interposerelectrically connecting the lower package to the upper package. Thus,the heat transfer member on the interposer may flow into the opening ofthe interposer. As a result, it is possible to reduce or prevent theheat transfer member from flowing to the via-connecting terminalsconnecting the interposer to the upper package. Thus, the electricalshort between the via-connecting terminals caused by the heat transfermember can be reduced or prevented to improve the reliability intransmission of the electrical signal.

While the inventive concepts have been described with reference toexample embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirits and scopes of the inventive concepts. Therefore, itshould be understood that the above embodiments are not limiting, butillustrative. Thus, the scopes of the inventive concepts are to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A package-on-package device comprising: a lowerpackage comprising a first package substrate, a first semiconductor chipon the first package substrate, and a first molding compound layer onthe first package substrate; an upper package comprising a secondpackage substrate and a second semiconductor chip on the second packagesubstrate; an interposer between the lower package and the upperpackage, the interposer including a plurality of openings; a pluralityof first via-connecting terminals connecting the lower package to theinterposer, the first via-connecting terminals spaced apart from eachother with a first distance; a plurality of second via-connectingterminals connecting the interposer to the upper package, the secondvia-connecting terminals spaced apart from each other with a seconddistance, the second distance being different from the first distance;and a heat transfer member comprising a first portion, a second portionand a third portion, the first portion being disposed between the lowerpackage and the interposer, the second portion being disposed betweenthe upper package and the interposer, and the third portion being in theplurality of openings and connecting the first portion and the secondportion, wherein the interposer includes a ground layer, and the heattransfer member is connected to the ground layer of the interposer. 2.The device of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer member contacts asurface of the first semiconductor chip.
 3. The device of claim 1,wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer member comprises a thermalinterface material (TIM), and the TIM is a resin material includingthermal conductive fillers.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein each ofthe plurality of openings is one of a through-hole penetrating theinterposer and a through-slit penetrating the interposer.
 6. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the plurality of first via-connecting terminals arein the first molding compound layer.
 7. The device of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of openings includes a first opening, the first openingbeing disposed in a first region of the interposer, and the first regionoverlapping the first semiconductor chip.
 8. The device of claim 7,wherein the first region is on a heat generating circuit part of thefirst semiconductor chip.
 9. The device of claim 7, wherein theplurality of openings further includes a second opening in a secondregion of the interposer, the second region being on the first moldingcompound layer.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the interposerincludes a concave region and each of the plurality of openings isformed in the concave region.
 11. The device of claim 1, wherein theupper package further comprises a third semiconductor chip on the secondpackage substrate, first chip connecting terminals connecting the secondsemiconductor chip to the second package substrate, and second chipconnecting terminals connecting the third semiconductor chip to thesecond package substrate, wherein the first chip connecting terminalsare spaced apart from each other with a third distance, and the secondchip connecting terminals are spaced apart from each other with a fourthdistance different from the third distance.
 12. The device of claim 1,wherein the ground layer of the interposer is connected to at least oneof the plurality of first via-connecting terminals.
 13. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the ground layer of the interposer is connected to aground layer of the first package substrate and/or a ground layer of thesecond package substrate.
 14. The device of claim 1, wherein the heattransfer member includes a different material from the first and secondvia-connecting terminals.
 15. The device of claim 1, wherein the groundlayer includes a conductive material, and the ground layer is suppliedwith ground voltage.
 16. The device of claim 1, wherein the interposerfurther includes a plurality of first pads connected with respectiveones of the first via-connecting terminals and a plurality of secondpads connected with respective ones of the second via-connectingterminals, and wherein the first pads are spaced apart from each otherwith a third distance and the second pads are spaced apart from eachother with a fourth distance that is different from the third distance.17. A package-on-package device comprising: a lower package; an upperpackage; an interposer between the lower package and the upper package,the interposer having a first surface facing the lower package and asecond surface facing the upper package and a first opening penetratingthe first surface and the second surface; a plurality of firstvia-connecting terminals connecting the lower package to the interposer,the first via-connecting terminals spaced apart from each other with afirst distance; a plurality of second via-connecting terminalsconnecting the interposer to the upper package, the secondvia-connecting terminals spaced apart from each other with a seconddistance, the second distance being different from the first distance;first connection pads on the first surface of the interposer and secondconnection pads on the second surface of the interposer, the firstconnection pads connected to the first via-connecting terminals and thesecond connection pads connected to the second via-connecting terminals,a distance between the second connection pads being different from adistance between the first connection pads; and a heat transfer membercomprising a first portion, a second portion and a third portion, thefirst portion being disposed between the lower package and theinterposer and contacting a surface of the lower package, the secondportion being disposed between the upper package and the interposer, andthe third portion being in the first opening and connecting the firstportion and the second portion, wherein the interposer includes a groundlayer, and the heat transfer member is connected to the ground layer ofthe interposer.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the distance betweenthe second connection pads is greater than the distance between thefirst connection pads.